WEF Gender Gap Index 2025: Top 10 best and worst countries for gender parity
WEF Global Gender Gap Index 2025: According to the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2025, the global gender gap has marginally narrowed in 2025, from 68.4% in 2024 to 68.8% in 2025, in 148 economies that were surveyed. However, the overall pace still lags behind pre-pandemic trends.
At the aggregate level, high-income economies have closed 74.3% of their gender gap, slightly higher than the averages recorded in lower-income groups; however, the best performers in the three lower-income categories have narrowed a larger percentage of their gender disparities than more than half of the high-income countries.
Notably, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Ecuador, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia have shown to be the most effective economies in overcoming gender inequalities across each income level.
The top 10 economies in the Global Gender Gap Index 2025 have succeeded in minimising gender gaps by at least 80%.
Iceland retains the world's most gender-equal economy for the 16th consecutive year, closing 92.6% of the gender gap – the only economy to reach 90% parity.
European countries account for eight of the top ten rankings; Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have all been in the top ten since 2006.
Source: World Economic Forum – The Global Gender Gap Index 2025 Rankings
The bottom 10 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2025—led by Pakistan, Sudan, Chad, and Iran—continue to show the widest gender disparities globally.
Source: World Economic Forum – The Global Gender Gap Index 2025 Rankings
In 2025, India ranked 131st in global gender parity out of 148 countries, with a score of 64.4%, down three positions from the previous year.
While it's way behind its neighbours – Bhutan (119th), Nepal (125th) and Sri Lanka (130th) – it saw an improvement in economic participation and opportunity.
The score rose to 40.7%, supported by an increase in estimated earned income from 28.6% to 29.9%, while labour-force participation remained steady at 45.9%.
In educational attainment, India scored 97.1%, reflecting gains in female literacy and tertiary education enrolment.
Health and survival also improved due to a better sex ratio at birth and increased healthy life expectancy. However, political empowerment declined, with women's representation in parliament dropping from 14.7% to 13.8%.
Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager - Content at The Indian Express. She is responsible for crafting compelling narratives, uncovering the latest news and developments, and driving engaging content based on data and trends to boost website traffic and audience engagement. One can connect with her on LinkedIn or by mail at cherry.gupta@indianexpress.com. ... Read More
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